Sunday, November 11, 2012

PF & The Flyers

Paul Franklin ( bass )

Poncho Vidal ( guitars )
Russell Sevigney (drums )

Bob Weigand ( keyboards )

Butch Giachelli ( vocals )

Paul Franklin was born in Fairmon WV moved to Newark Delaware in 1952 and came from a musical family, older brothers played on radio stations , DJing ,Singing and did Gospel music starting in the 1940s

While growing up in the Newark DE area PA, he started playing gutiar at age 12. Played and sang in church at age 13, then in junior high started a band and played in school. His passion grew more in High School and he played at the local Frat parties at the Universey of Delaware in 1961, High School Dances, Fire Fall Rock n Roll Shows

Played in band in the air force, then was in "The Adapters" and got booked in 1967 with them in Newport RI, where he met Richard Carr. Richard was from Philly and in another band until Paul moved to RI in 1968 with Richard Carr and we created The Richard Carr Corp Band. Ricky then got into more with the Booking Agency and left the band in 1970. It was then that PF & The Flyers was born.

Sound/Light Crew
Andy Villegas
Christopher Forte
Tom Bennetti /aka Major TomTHE ADAPTERS (Predecessor to PF & The Flyers)
By the summer of '64, Paul Franklin had taken Bozo's place on lead guitar. Al was also replaced by John Southard, a trained classical keyboardist and Ed Stirling on lead vocals. With the new line up The Adapters quickly outgrew the weekly block party and in the fall management arranged to rent the new Aetna Fire Hall every Friday night. Around this time Dave Roberts also joined at the rhythm guitar spot, bringing their numbers to six. Their repertoire consisted of the Top 40 hits of the day, which meant they needed to continually learn new material. And as a result they had to emulate multiple styles including healthy doses of British Invasion and Motown.

The Fire Hall Dance was immensely popular and was packed to capacity every week. It was THE place to be in Newark on Friday night and was viewed as a trouble spot by most parents. With an average of 600 in attendance at $1.00 a head the members were bringing home an unheard of $65 a man, after expenses. Local record shark Vince Rago signed them for a record deal with his label, Richie Records, and in 1965 the single "Believe Me"/"Confess", penned by lead singer Ed Stirling, was released. WAMS (Wilmington AM station) was overwhelmed with play requests and the record shot to number 12 on the local Top 40. With a top 20 hit to their credit, doors were opening at larger clubs in NJ and PA and they became regulars at WAMS events.

In spite of these successes, Ed Stirling chose to take his Elvis styles and songwriting skills to another hard working band, The Galaxies. As he was going in, Galaxies' alto saxophonist & vocalist Bill Spots left and joined The Adapters. Another record deal with Montgomery Records provided them with a Number 3 hit "Why"/ "Have Fun This Summer" in 1966. A stunning vocal and Fender Jaguar solo by Franklin highlighted this screaming reverb soaked plea that even reached number 16 in California. In response the band appeared on Philly TV's HyLitt and Jerry Blavat Shows. Booking was signed over to the Jolly Joyce Agency whose far-reaching connections got them on the bill with Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels, Gary Lewis & The Playboys, Freddie & The Dreamers, The Soul Survivors, and more. When the dust finally settled, "Why" had sold 10,000 copies.

The Adapters continued touring the east coast and as far as Chicago until 1968 when Paul & John moved to Rhode Island to form PF & The Flyers, Ron Hammer soon followed. PF carried the flame until the mid nineties. Today Paul is still in Rhode Island; Ron & John returned to Newark. Ed Stirling is still singing locally and guests occasionally on WVUD.